


Turbo

by bukkunkun



Category: OFF (Game)
Genre: Crack Treated Seriously, Crossover, Gen, more characters and fandoms to follow
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-13
Updated: 2013-05-21
Packaged: 2017-12-11 18:29:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/801812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bukkunkun/pseuds/bukkunkun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Batter and Zacharie run into a serious problem they have to fix. And fast.</p><p>No Oculus Rift headsets were harmed in the making of this fic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Oculus Rift Problems

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a crackprompt on jerkin_off that spiralled out of control.
> 
> Note the severe lack of otome games and the over-abundance of indie horror games. Get ready to get worried, jfc.

“So, I’ve installed my Oculus Rift, I think I’m good to go…” the Player mumbled, plugging in cords here and there, pouting to themselves as they set about trying to figure out the mass of wires all over their floor. “Jeez, I spent a crapton on this hardware, it really shouldn’t be _this_ hard to sort out, right?”

They were half-right; the Oculus Rift _was_ easy to install, really. The problem laid in the HDMI cables they had left strewn about all over the place. Unfortunately, though, the Player did not know that, and assumed that those wires were all from their ordered Oculus Rift.

Poor thing.

Shaking their head, the Player gave up on trying to fix the mess of wires and instead sat down at their laptop, putting their headgear on.

“Right, to gaming,” they chuckled, before blindly reaching for their mouse, and with great difficulty, they aimed the cursor at a game icon they had been itching to play—only to miss as they double-clicked—

And suddenly, a big, red blaring message popped up in front of them.

_CANNOT OPEN RPG_RT.exe. RUNTIME ERROR: FILE CORRUPTED_

Their eyes widened, and their jaw fell lax.

“Oh, my _God_!” they screamed in panic, as they rushed to open up a program command box, and hurriedly began to type counter-error codes.

* * *

The Batter paused in mid-test-swing of his bat to look up at the sky above him, once simply white and blue and pixelled, now fuzzing in and out of static white noise. Blinking confusedly, he lowered his bat and put his arms akimbo, looking up at the sky properly.

“What’s going on?” he wondered out loud, and a tap on his shoulder caught his attention. He turned his head to see Zacharie, left arm on his hip, his right hand raised to a glowing pad that floating in the air. The Batter’s eyes widened to see three Add-Ons behind Zacharie in the forms of wings and a halo. “… Zacharie?”

“Batter, it seems we have run into a problem,” he reported, before typing with his right hand on the keypad of golden light. “Something’s gone wrong with our game files, and now everything’s disappearing from our game.”

“What are you talking about?” the Batter asked, cocking his head as he crossed his arms, his three Add-Ons floating behind him erratically, sensing his exasperation. “And where did you get those Add-Ons?”

“No time to explain,” Zacharie shot his question down, before closing his right hand into a fist. “We’ve got to get out of here, first.” The golden light enveloping his hand burst from his fist and faded into a golden sword. The Batter’s eyes widened at Zacharie, but the masked salesman ignored him and turned around, swinging his sword to tear a hole in the space in front of him. “Follow me,” he ordered, before jumping through, his Add-Ons following suit after him.

The Batter blinked at the hole, confused, but then Alpha hit his arm to catch his attention to look at the world around him. He gasped to see the world around him falling to pieces, pixel by pixel disintegrating behind him, and _fast_. Quickly, he jumped into the hole Zacharie made, Alpha, Omega and Epsilon following suit, just in time for their world to collapse behind them and shut the hole, plunging them into a dark world where all around him the Batter could see darkness in the far distance, with floating streams of data and gateways and long cords that served as roads.

The Batter stood there, shocked beyond anything, his eyes wide as he stared back at the space where the hole used to be. What had just happened?

“Took you a while,” Zacharie spoke up, catching his attention again, and he turned his head to look at the masked merchant, who had his arms crossed, his right hand aglow with golden light. The sword was gone. “If you stayed behind a little longer, you’d be in big trouble, too, and I’d have to do this alone.”

“What is going on,” the Batter growled, striding up to Zacharie, only to back away slightly when Zacharie’s left wing Add-On surged forward to protect its master.

“Back down, Gamma,” Zacharie spoke up, holding his hand out to his Add-On, and it obeyed its master, moving back to its place behind him. “Look, Batter, this is going to sound ridiculous,”

“It’s already _very_ ridiculous.” The Batter frowned, “Start talking.”

Zacharie fell silent for a moment, but then he nodded. “Very well. You see, I’m this game’s Guardian.”

The Batter’s eyes widened and he pulled his bat out. “So, I’m going to have to purify you as well.”

“That’s hardly the case!” Zacharie huffed, “I have nothing to do with your mission. My job is to protect this game.” He tapped his foot on the ground. “… As a sideline to selling things to you, anyway. But as you can see, I have nothing more to protect, so you and I are going to have to find those missing game files ourselves.”

“… Is that how you can address my Player that easily?”

“Well, yes,” Zacharie grinned, “Your Player isn’t the only person that’s omnipresent in our world, dear Batter. And there are others like me, except they choose not to reveal themselves to their fellow game-people and the Player.”

“Wait, you’re telling me that the Player… is with others?”

“Well,” Zacharie chuckled, “You can’t expect them to be with us _all_ the time. That’s called monopolizing their time, and Batter, that isn’t very nice.” Zacharie chuckled patronisingly, patting the Batter’s cheek. “Now, moving on. Some sort of virus has destroyed our game and we have to find our files back if we want our Player with us again.”

“Right, do you understand I have no idea what you’re talking about?” the Batter asked, crossing his arms. “I don’t understand this, these _files_ , and _games_ , and—Zacharie,”

“Don’t worry about it, amigo,” Zacharie assured him, “Just do as I say, and we’ll be fine.”

The Batter frowned, and he spared a glance at Zacharie’s Add-Ons. “… They come with the package?” he asked, gesturing at them, and Zacharie looked up at them, before nodding.

“This is Beta,” the right wing bounced slightly, “You’ve met Gamma,” the left wing bounced, “And this is Theta.” He gestured at his halo. Yes, I know, angels are a little… unlike me, but they are my Add-Ons, and they are fiercely loyal to me.”

“I could tell.” The Batter dryly replied, “And your sword?”

“Oh, that,” Zacharie chuckled, “It’s more for game-jumping than fighting, don’t you worry,” the masked man replied, before his sword materialised in his hand again. “Why don’t we get started on our search, shall we? Luckily for us, my sword hones in on everything that belongs to OFF. We’ll track the files this way.”

“… Zacharie, is that what our game is called? OFF?”

“Oh, yes. You’ll find out why soon.” The man gave him a thumbs-up, before slicing a hole into space again, just like before. “Come on,” he held his hand out to the Batter, who didn’t take it. “Hm? What’s the matter?”

“I’m just thinking,” the man replied, “The Player, they’re not always with us?”

“No, not always,” Zacharie replied, “Sometimes they’re over on the other games on their computer. Unluckily for us, our dear Player here has quite a few games on their computer. We’re going to have to move quickly if we’re going to get home soon.”

“Yeah, but… doesn’t the Player ever miss us?”

Zacharie paused in mid-step into his new portal, and he turned to give the Batter a sceptical look. “… Excuse me?”

“Zacharie, I have always trusted my Player, in everything I do. Without my Player, I’d be lost.” The Batter sighed, shaking his head, “But now that I know that they’re not always going to be with me, what about me? What’s going to happen to me?”

Zacharie stared at him for a long moment, before shaking his head fondly, stepping away from the new portal to walk up to the Batter. He lifted his mask slightly to reveal to the Batter thin lips curled up into a rare smile.

“Then rest assured, I will be there for you in their stead.” He replied softly, before sharply turning on his heel and walking straight back to the portal. “Now, shall we?”

The Batter blinked at Zacharie for a moment, before nodding resolutely, pulling his bat out and gripping it in his hand. “Let’s go,” he agreed, following Zacharie through the portal.

* * *

“Damn it,” the Player swore, when none of their codes worked. They slumped back in their seat, before shaking their head. “What am I going to do no—oh?”

They blinked, pulling off their Oculus Rift headset to see a new code that had popped up on the command box.

_STARTUP: PURIFY.EXE_

_> COMMAND?_

“… I didn’t start that off, and I most certainly don’t remember installing _that_.” The Player mumbled, typing in:

 _> COMMAND? HELP_ |

 _> PURIFY.EXE HAS BEGUN RECLAMING LOST RPG_RT.EXE FILES_.

A smile crossed the Player’s face, and sigh of relief escaped their lips.

_> PROCESS: 0% COMPLETED._

“Well, looks like it’s going to have a happy ending after all.” The Player grinned, before switching tabs. “Right, then. On to testing my new headset while that works in the background, I think.” They smiled, before properly aiming their cursor this time around at a new game they’d been meaning to play after watching some Let’s Play’s on YouTube.

“ _Maere_ , here I come,” they grinned, double-clicking the shortcut, before putting their new headgear on.

Little did they know what they were about to run into.


	2. Maere: When Lights Die

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Batter enters his first game beyond his own, and finally meets a special person in his mission.
> 
> Zacharie is being a little shit again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who are curious about Maere, you can find the playthrough here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eI8mZe-tzAc
> 
> This Playthrough is by Markiplier, and he's a great person to watch! Warning for a lot of cussing, and after watching his videos, you can probably guess who I've characterised my Player's catchphrases after. XD

“Ah, we’ve arrived,” Zacharie stated pleasantly, clapping his hands, as a white room faded into vision. The Batter blinked, dazed, and he shook his head to clear it, before taking a look around.

In the middle of the room, there was a daunting-looking chair that had restraints on it, in addition to a suspicious-looking headset up top. The walls were pure white, and there was a heavy-looking metal door in front of the chair. The Batter walked over to it, and reached for the handle, only to realise that the door was completely flat—like it was just a picture in the wall.

“Oh, map textures, don’t be too surprised,” Zacharie spoke up behind him, and he turned to look at the merchant, who was now inspecting the chair, a hand at his chin. “This, most likely, is our only way forward.”

“So sitting down will help us achieve something,” the Batter deadpanned, and Zacharie laughed.

“I suppose.” He replied, and the two of them fell silent, their respective Add-Ons floating nervously behind them. After a long while, Zacharie cleared his throat. “Well, aren’t you going to take a seat and I’ll help you around?”

The Batter rolled his eyes. “You said the same thing when we were on the monorail,” he frowned at Zacharie, who only chuckled, before gesturing at the seat.

“Make yourself comfortable,” he told the Batter as he sat down. Zacharie fastened the straps and pulled the Batter’s cap off, much to the man’s dismay. “Well, I can’t leave the cap on while you’re wearing the headset, dummy,” Zacharie snickered. “Here we go,” he cheerfully said as he fastened the headset onto the Batter’s head. “Comfy?”

The Batter replied with a noncommittal grunt, and he chuckled again.

“Close your eyes… and let’s get this show on the road.”

* * *

The Batter jolted awake to find himself in the same white room, only now the door was open in front of him, leading down into a corridor with red walls and ornate lamps at the side. The hall was long, and slightly dark, and it reminded the Batter of the mines back in Zone 1 back in his own game.

He made a move to get up—when he realised he hadn’t even remembered falling asleep, and that he was tied to a chair with a headset on, right?

The Batter paused, and looked down at his hands to see that they were free, and he felt his head—no headset, but no cap, either. He frowned and got up, turning around to see Alpha, Omega and Epsilon floating behind him. “You three, thank goodness,” he sighed, and they flew around him, abuzz with concern, and he chuckled at them and stroked their rings reassuringly to calm them down. “Where’s Zacharie?”

 _Right here_ , a voice said in his head, and the Batter jolted, turning around to find the source of the voice, only to find he was alone with his Add-Ons.

 _Silly Batter_ , Zacharie chuckled, _I’m currently communicating with you via voiceover. You’re currently in a dream state, well, at least this game says so, but anyway, in the meantime, it looks like_ I’m _your Player, ha ha ha._

The Batter scowled, “This is hardly anything funny.”

 _To you, perhaps, but I’m the one wearing the pants here, my friend._ Zacharie chuckled, and the Batter jerked forward against his will. _Get moving, then. I think you’ll be able to find our game files in your part of this game._

“And what about you?” the Batter replied, but he walked outside into the corridor, slowly and cautiously, his Add-Ons shining brighter to give him a better source of light.

 _I’m stuck in a four-walled room with pre-made textures for wallpaper. Even the door’s texture. I really have nothing I can do, except to guide you._ Zacharie giggled. _I think I know how the dear Player feels like now_.

The Batter rolled his eyes, and turned the corner to find a little girl standing in the far end at a crossroads to another corridor. He froze in surprise, but he quickly relaxed when he saw that she wasn’t even looking at him.

“Are you seeing this, Zacharie?” he mumbled, careful to not catch her attention—he didn’t belong in this game, so it was best to be wary of _everything_ in it.

_Oh, am I. I think it’s best you avoid her, amigo._

“She’s kind of in the way, though,” the Batter said, and his shoulders shrugged involuntarily. Zacharie must have done that, he thought to himself.

 _Yes, I did do that._ Zacharie chuckled, _But that’s not what matters as of now. Try getting one of your Add-Ons to make her go away?_

The Batter frowned, but then he looked at Alpha, and the Add-On bounced once in affirmation, before flying forward right at her—

“Oh, my God, is that a huge white light ring?” an unfamiliar voice spoke up, and the Batter raised an eyebrow when Alpha abruptly stopped in its tracks, floating right above the little girl, clearly at a loss on what to do. “Are you the monster here? Oh, no, wait, you kinda look familiar… ‘scuse me, little girl,”

A person stepped out past the corner and into view, and the Batter’s eyes widened in sudden realisation.

“… Player?” he ventured, and the person stopped, and turned to look at him. Their eyes widened and their jaw dropped.

“ _Batter_?” they gasped, before turning to look at Alpha. “Then you must be… that onion ring…”

“That’s Alpha, Player,” the Batter corrected them, running forward towards them to grasp their shoulders. “But that’s not important right now. What are you doing in here?”

“I’m playing a game, Batter!” the Player replied, “What the heck are _you_ doing here? This isn’t your game!”

 _Tell them what happened_ , Zacharie told him. _Our game was destroyed, and we’re trying to piece it back together._

“Our game was suddenly destroyed by some…” the Batter paused.

 _Virus_. Zacharie prompted, as the Player raised an eyebrow and crossed their arms.

“It was destroyed by a virus,” the Batter continued.

 _It scattered the game files_.

“It scattered the game files,”

_And now we’re looking for them in your computer._

“And now we’re looking for them in your computer.”

“… My computer.”

 _Well, it’s their other game files, actually_.

“Well, your other game files.” The Batter frowned, crossing his arms. “Personally, though, I can’t understand what’s going on, really.”

The Player shook their head. “Neither do I. My computer told me that there was some program retrieving the files before I entered _Maere_.”

_Purify.exe?_

“… Purify… dot… edgxsi?” the Batter echoed, confused, and the Player’s eyes widened.

“Yes, that program!” they nodded. “How could you have known about that?”

“I… I don’t.”

_That’s the game guardians’ system protocol when their game gets into trouble. Our mission’s progress is measured by it._

“Okay, Zacharie, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Zacharie’s with you?” the Player asked, dumbfounded, and the Batter nodded.

“He’s the one who’s explaining everything, he told me something about game-jumping, and guardians, and… really, I don’t understand what’s going on, all I know is that we have to get things back so we can go back home.”

“… Game-jumping.” The Player echoed. “Zacharie, are you going Turbo and dragging Batter along with you for the laughs?”

 _I am not_.

“He’s not,” the Batter relayed, “Look, Player, we have to find our file here in this game. It’s in here somewhere, Zacharie had said.”

The Player frowned, tapping their chin in thought. “Well, you see, _Maere_ —that’s the game you’re in, by the way, has only one objective: get out of here, _alive_. That’s it, so—” they abruptly shut up, their eyes widening in fear, and the Batter’s brow creased in worry.

“Player?” he asked.

“Le Monstenere!” they screamed, all of a sudden, “We’ve gotta go! Come on!” they grabbed his hand and bodily pulled him along with them. The Batter, confused, ran along, but he couldn’t understand what was going on. He dared to look behind him and his eyes widened upon seeing a tall… _thing_ chasing after them, the lights it passed dying one by one as they ran. The little girl he saw was right behind them, just standing there, only coming closer each time he blinked.

Just what the heck was going on?

 _Oh, that must be it._ Zacharie spoke up in his head, _That’s the monster in the game. You have to avoid him at all costs, Batter, and I do believe that little girl is this game’s Guardian._

“You have _got_ to be kidding me,” the Batter breathed, and suddenly the Player turned a corner, slamming him into the wall.

“Oh, my God! Sorry!” they yelled, but he quickly recovered, shaking his head to clear it, before running after them properly now, grabbing onto their hand.

“He have to avoid him,” he panted, “This way!” he yelled, pulling the Player to the side, and together they ran, turning corners every once in a while until they were sure that they had lost the monster chasing them. “… Okay, what the heck was that, and how did you know he was right behind us?”

“Le Monstenere, I don’t know,” the Player shrugged, “You see, the little girl here whispers to me when he’s coming near. I _think_ she’s on my side?”

_She is, and she just told me that the game file’s at the chair? I don’t know what that means._

“She is,” the Batter told the Player, “Also, she apparently told Zacharie that the game file was at the chair?”

“That’s where I’m going!” the Player exclaimed. “That’s the way out!”

“Let’s get going, then.” The Batter declared firmly, walking forward, the Player following suit.

* * *

“Doesn’t the little girl bother you?” the Batter asked the Player after a while of backtracking back to where they met. The Player had apparently somehow found some way to get to the chair they were looking for.

“More than you’ll ever know. Freaked the heck out of me the moment I started this game,” they replied, turning around to look at the little girl standing behind them. “Ain’t that right, lil’ girl?”

 _She finds your fear of her very cute._ Zacharie chuckled.

“Zacharie says that the little girl finds you cute,” the Batter told his Player, and they rolled their eyes, laughing.

“I ain’t cute the moment I start screaming bloody mur— _OH MY GOD_!”

“What is it?” the Batter asked.

“The chair!” they squealed, running forward, and there, the Batter saw it—a room similar to the one he had been in previously, and his eyes widened in relief. “Let’s get outta here!” they laughed exuberantly, and together, they and the Batter ran for it, ushering the Add-Ons in before the Batter slammed the door shut behind him as the Player sat down, delighted at the sight of the file transfer message pop up in their peripheral vision. Their delight was short-lived, though, when realisation hit them.

“… Oh, my God, the both of us need to get back. How?” they asked.

 _You don’t have to sit in the chair, amigo. We’re done,_ Zacharie’s pleased voice told him. _You entering that chair room just triggered the release of the game file here in the room I’m in right now. Great job, amigo, I’m pulling you out._

“Hey, wait, what about the Player—” the Batter began to say, but then suddenly the space above him cut open and Zacharie peered in.

“ _Bonjour_ , Player,” he purred at the Player, giving them a small wave, before grabbing the scruff of the Batter’s tunic. “Time to go, Batter,” he cheerfully said, and the Batter struggled in his grip.

“Wait, the Player—” he pleaded, as the Add-Ons flew into the portal gratefully. “You have to let me help them!”

“Can’t, that’s not how this game goes.” Zacharie said simply. “Adieu, Player.”

With uncharacteristic strength, Zacharie pulled the Batter into the portal and it shut, just as the door flew open, revealing to the Player the hallway they had run through, the monster chasing them at the end of it, slowly approaching them.

Panic seeped into them, but they saw the bar. “Okay, 80% complete—I can make it…”

“90…”

“A hun— _Oh my God!_ ”

 _Transferring files, 1/64_.

The monster reached them, and the world went black.

* * *

The Batter’s heart fell to his stomach, and he stopped struggling in Zacharie’s grip.

“… What happened to them…?” he breathed, disbelieving, and Zacharie chuckled. “Tell me, you bastard!” he growled, abruptly turning around and grabbing the merchant’s sweater. “What happened to the Player?”

“Wait and see, _amigo_.” He purred, and suddenly the ground beneath them gave away, and the Batter’s eyes widened as he stared wide-eyed at Zacharie.

“Enjoy the ride down, Batter,” he chuckled, and the two of them plummeted downwards into the light.

The Batter didn’t even have the time to scream.


End file.
